Crayfish often become somewhat active when water temps get above 50F-55F same with most fish. Early caught female crays (pre mid April) will often have eggs attached. Temps of 60F+ are better for catching minnows because they (esp males)are pretty active in prespawn. All minnows always should be sorted, selecting only the desired species.
When one buys bait minnows, a lot of the species present depends where the fish came from farm or wild. Wild caught usually have more than one specie in each batch. Farm raised minnows/shiners are mostly a monoculture of one specie, however the contamination can be as high as 2 per 100 or often 1 per 500.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/03/14 04:13 PM.
